Filching Figures

On most Friday afternoons at 4:15, the Federal Reserve releases the
money-supply figures from the previous week. In the past, that has set
off a flurry of activity in financial centers around the world.
Short-term interest rates often rise or fall on the basis of what the
Fed reports, causing swings in the prices of bonds and often stocks.
Anyone who could find out in advance what the figures would be might
reap huge profits by buying or selling.

Such was the scheme of Theode C. Langevin, 34, a six-year employee of
the Federal Reserve Board who moved to...